As the former CFO of such companies as Sprint, Eastman Kodak Co. and Unisys Corp., as well as vice president of finance of General Electric Co.'s plastics division, Robert Brust's management philosophy was to bring procurement into the finance department, at times meeting daily with the purchasing team to go over expenditures line by line.

More than half of Fortune 1000 executives are focused on cost reduction strategies for delivering earnings and funding growth in 2012, according to a recent survey commissioned by Procurian, formerly ICG Commerce, and conducted by Harris Interactive. Administered to more than 300 Fortune 1000 executives, the survey finds that in the coming year 60 percent of respondents will focus on non-people-related cost reductions as the major source of funds for investments in innovation and growth.